Michele Kroll has been a financial advisor with Edward Jones for 14 years and has an office in Clarksburg, WV. She lives in Clarksburg with her husband, Paul, and two children, Brandon and Emily. Prior to her career at Edward Jones, Michele worked in various capacities at Dominion Transmission, also in Clarksburg.

Michele has a background in accounting and economics from Fairmont State University and obtained an MBA from West Virginia University.

Attendee – Lisa Cain

Lisa Can has been a financial advisor with Edward Jones for 7 years and has an office in Buckhannon, WV. She is also one of two 401k specialists for the state of West Virginia. She resides in Buckhannon with her husband, Steve. They have 2 adult children, Alyssa who lives in Ravenswood and Ethan who lives in Charleston, WV.

The honorable John D. Perdue is West Virginia’s 24th State Treasurer and is currently serving his sixth term. Treasurer Perdue is West Virginia’s longest-serving state treasurer with 20 years in office. He gained that distinction in 2015 when he surpassed Richard Talbott (D-Barbour) who occupied the office from 1933-1951.

Treasurer Perdue has served the people of West Virginia for more than 40 years. He started his public service career with the Department of Agriculture in 1973. During his time there he held several positions, including the title of Assistant Commissioner. In 1989 he became executive assistant to former Governor Gaston Caperton and served as a member of his executive staff for eight years.

Since taking office in 1997, Treasurer Perdue has worked diligently to make West Virginia a better place for families, business owners and citizens of all ages. As the banker of state government, Treasurer Perdue manages more than $13 billion

Kent Leonhardt is a longtime farmer who began his passion for the industry at a very young age while still serving in the United States Marine Corps. Towards the end of his military career, he bought a farm near Blacksville, WV that had sat abandoned for over 40 years. The farm, where he still lives today, was purchased in 1982, and started cultivating crops and raising livestock in 1997. For twenty years, Kent, with the help of his wife Shirley, raised sheep, cattle and goats and sold hay when there was a surplus available.

Kent received his formal education at the University of Missouri, earning a Bachelor’s Degree in Wildlife Management. While earning his degree, he took a variety of courses covering issues pertinent to agriculture as well as natural resources and environmental protection. Kent furthered his education by earning a Master’s in Business Management from Central Michigan University.

Shelley Moore Capito was elected by the people of West Virginia to the United States Senate in 2014. She is the first female U.S. Senator in West Virginia’s history and was elected with the largest margin of victory for a Republican in state history – winning more than 62 percent of the vote and all 55 counties.

After serving West Virginia’s Second Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives for 14 years, and as a member of the West Virginia House of Delegates for four years prior, Shelley decided to run for Senate to be an even stronger voice for the Mountain State. She also saw an opportunity to restore order to a Senate stuck in gridlock for far too long.

Shelley believes that today’s challenges demand bipartisan solutions and cooperation across the aisle to advance legislation that benefits West Virginia and the country as a whole.